Kyle Larson’s NASCAR Cup Series season has undeniably taken a dive since his second attempt at both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in May went awry.

After rain in Indianapolis ended his hopes of competing in the 600 in 2024, Larson returned to the historic track a year later, hoping to finish what he started. However, after qualifying 21st, he ultimately crashed out on the 92nd lap, spinning into the wall.

Larson eventually made it to Charlotte, where he crashed again, this time on lap 246, when he was caught up in a mass wreck.

Fast forward to October, and now just five races from a second Cup Series championship, Larson addressed his drop in form post “Double Duty” on the ‘Stacking Pennies’ podcast.

“I think looking at the results since then, it’d be hard to argue that it didn’t (knock his confidence), even though I wouldn’t necessarily say I felt any lack of confidence,” the 33-year-old said. “I don’t know. But I don’t know if it was circumstantial, but I mean, my NASCAR stuff took a dip, my sprint car racing took a dip. I mean, it’s hard to argue against it.”

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Prior to Indy/Charlotte, Larson had won three of the 12 races in the Cup Series, finishing in the top five a further five times. Since then he has yet to win a race, finishing in the top five on just three occasions, including a high of second, somewhat ironically, at the Brickyard 400.

“It was just odd and a weird coincidence that, like like I said, I mean NASCAR took a dive a little bit and my sprint car, which both were going so good right before that,” he added.

“I mean, I was winning more than half the sprint car races I was running. We had led 900 laps and were crushing it in NASCAR to that point. And then I choke off that Sunday, and it’s been crappy since.”

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Larson explained that in the aftermath, as the disappointing results piled up, he began to question, “Is it me? Is it the car? What is it?”

But with a title still to fight for, Larson said the key is to remain “focused on the process and trust that what you’re doing and what your team is doing is the right direction and you’ll come out on the other side. You just don’t know how long that’s going to take.”

Since the Playoffs began at Darlington, Larson’s form has been mixed, finishing 19th, 12th, and 32nd in the Round of 16 before solid seventh and sixth-place finishes in the Round of 8. Third in the Playoff picture heading into the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday to close out this round, Larson is 54 points clear of the cutoff line. 

Thankfully for Larson, not only is his Playoff standing relatively safe, but he heads to the Roval as the reigning winner, perhaps giving him the springboard he needs to get his season back on track.